Andreessen Horowitz becomes top known spender in the 2026 midterms

In short: Andreessen Horowitz is the biggest known spender so far in the 2026 US midterm election cycle.

What's going on

Public filings with the Federal Election Commission, or FEC (the US agency that tracks federal campaign money), show venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, also called a16z, has committed more than $150 million in the 2026 midterm cycle as of mid May.

Much of the money is going to super PACs, which are political groups that can raise and spend large amounts to support candidates (like a booster club for politics, but with very big budgets). The filings show major support for groups such as Tech Freedom PAC and other Republican aligned committees, plus smaller direct donations to specific candidates.

The spending is aimed at candidates who want fewer government rules for technology, especially around AI and crypto. The article also connects this moment to a quote attributed to Marc Andreessen from around 2000, when he warned that political spending was likely to grow. The New York Times notes the exact original transcript is not clearly documented, but the quote matches his long running views about tech and politics.

What to watch

This election cycle is expected to be extremely expensive overall, with fights over AI rules playing a bigger role than in past midterms. Watch whether a16z’s spending changes what kinds of AI laws get proposed, and whether other firms respond by increasing their own political budgets.

Source: NYTimes